Ed Perlmutter: “This week, the House Budget Committee will prepare a Democratic budget that begins the process of fixing a fiscal mess…”

“This week, the House Budget Committee will prepare a Democratic budget that begins the process of fixing a fiscal mess created by President Bush and congressional Republicans over the last 6 years. This is not something that can be done in one year. After all, it took the prior Congresses and administration 6 years to turn a $5.6 trillion surplus into a $2.8 trillion deficit. That's a fiscal collapse over a 6-year period of more than $8 trillion. The misguided budget priorities of this administration have forced the President to borrow more money from countries like Japan and China than all of his 42 predecessors combined. That is not only a budget concern but also a serious national security concern. It's time that we get our fiscal house in order. The Democratic budget will restore fiscal sanity here in Washington by actually balancing the budget over the next 5 years. This is something that the Republicans were not able to accomplish over the last 6. The Democratic budget will bring about change and a new direction in sound budgetary policies.”